[ExI] Study of social media behavior must be 'crisis discipline'

[Dan TheBookMan]

On Jun 27, 2021, at 2:40 AM, BillK via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
> Our ability to confront global crises, from pandemics to climate
> change, depends on how we interact and share information.
> 
> <https://phys.org/news/2021-06-technology-behavior-crisis-discipline.html>
> Quotes:
> Social media and other forms of communication technology restructure
> these interactions in ways that have consequences. Unfortunately, we
> have little insight into whether these changes will bring about a
> healthy, sustainable and equitable world. As a result, researchers now
> say that the study of collective behavior must rise to a "crisis
> discipline," just like medicine, conservation and climate science have
> done, according to a new paper published June 14 in the Proceedings of
> the National Academy of Sciences.
> 
> Social media and other technological developments have radically
> reshaped the way that information flows on a global scale. These
> platforms are driven to maximize engagement and profitability, not to
> ensure sustainability or accurate information—and the vulnerability of
> these systems to misinformation and disinformation poses a dire threat
> to health, peace, global climate and more.
> --------------
> 
> Also -
> <https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/6/26/22550981/carl-bergstrom-joe-bak-coleman-biologists-ecologists-social-media-risk-humanity-research-academics>
> Quotes:
> The paper argues that our lack of understanding about the collective
> behavioral effects of new technology is a danger to democracy and
> scientific progress. For example, the paper says that tech companies
> have “fumbled their way through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,
> unable to stem the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation” that has hindered
> widespread acceptance of masks and vaccines.
> ----------
> 
> Ohh,  Somebody's noticed that social media might just be destroying
> society..........
> 
> BillK

Kind of like pamphlets (think English Civil War) and newspapers (think late 18th to early 20th century) did years ago, no? Or the telegraph, telephone radio, and television did more recently.

Regards,

Dan